Kirby's in the European market

[kirby519]

I have read that Kirby's are wired for only for the High speed in the European market. Is there any logical reason for this?

Also has anyone found any listing of when Kirby's were first introduced to the various countries they are sold in. So far I haven't been able to find any information on this.

 

[kirby519]

For fun I sent the same questions to the Kirby company. We will see if and how they respond. The roll out years for the various countries they are sold in would be a fun fact for all of us to have and discuss.

The same would be true with Hoover and some of the other makes we all like.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

kirby519

Steve,

I'm unsure of why the Classic Omega, Classic III and Tradition for the export market (240 volts) had been wired that way, but the Heritage and subsequent models did have two speed motors like ours did. Maybe James Brown (kirbymodel2c) could shed some light on this.

Also: the Generation 3 hadn't made it outside of North America until the fall of 1992; which is why the Legend II had a longer run in such countries as the UK and South Africa.

~Ben

 

[vacuumdevil]

I'm not sure they're selling Kirby's in Europe anymore. Last I heard the new European Union rating system make them not eligible. Which is quite bullshit and I might add.

 

[turbo500]

Kirby's are most definitely still sold in Europe and are all still twin speed activated by the hose as normal. They're not wired just for high, unless this is something that's been done on the latest model only as I haven't used that one yet, but the Legend 2 my Mum had and all the models I've had and used since were low for carpets and high on the hose.

 

[gj3476]

Curious Question. What year did Europe first sold Kirby vacuums? For instance like the United Kingdom?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Gj3476

Gabriel,

The Kirby Classic Omega 1CB (1973 to 1976) was, with the exception of a few early machines (such as the 1948 508 and a re-branded version of the 1CR Classic), the first Kirby to be sold in the UK and the rest of Europe (and also in South Africa) in earnest but, because it had a shake-out cloth bag, it tended to not sell as well as those machines (many with disposable bags) coming from the local British and other European and South African manufacturers.

The Kirby Tradition (1979 to 1981) was the first Kirby to sort of catch on outside North America as it finally had a disposable bag system, but as it was the first model with this type of setup, it still had hurdles to clear (the fill tube was rather smallish and the other problem, on the earliest machines, was the speed switch inside the headlight cap)... so it would take another model, the 1HD Heritage (1981 to 1984), for Kirby to really sell well outside of North America.

~Ben

 

[mike811]

At least in the Finland Kirby seems to sell well. I see a lot of Kirbys in the Finnish internet auction site. People just are trying to get huge money from those.
I have G6 imported from the Germany and it has normal two speed switch.

https://www.tori.fi/koko_suomi?q=kirby+imuri&cg=0&w=3&xtatc=INT-166

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Kirby 240V Motors Before the Heritage

What you need to know about the Kirby 240-volt motors (before the 1HD Heritage) on units sold outside of North America:


 


Only two wires from the field, red and white, go to the safety switch... hence why these machines (1CB Classic Omega, 2CB Classic III and 3CB Tradition) only have the high speed (hose), which is a little slower when the belt is attached to the motor shaft for operation with the rug nozzle, Miracle Head (floor polisher), Rug Renovator and Handi-Butler.


 


~Ben

 

[kirby519]

So far Kirby has confirmed that current models do in-fact use both speeds like the machines sold here in the USA.

They haven't been able to answer the years that Kirby's were introduced to the 50 countries they are currently marketed in.

 

[tlfinland]

Like Mike811 wrote, Kirbys are sold here in Finland but the price is extremely high. They are sold only by door-to-door salesmen. There are lots of discussions on various forums going on advicing people not to buy a Kirby vacuum cleaner because they are so over priced. Maybe that's the reason why used ones are also expensive. Unfortunately I don't know how long the brand has been on the Finnish market. Lux (a former part of Swedish Electrolux) is the most known door-to-door vacuum cleaner in Finland and other brands are less known.